Echo
by ohmyloki
Summary: Prompt: "Loki meets Darcy at a party in Avengers Tower and asks her to dance." Unbeta'd


**A/N: There's a song mentioned near the end. That song is 'Echo' by Jason Walker.**

Darcy put her elbows on the railing and peered down at the city below. The sounds of a party in full swing drifted out to the balcony through the glass door behind her, cracked open just an inch. It was a beautiful night. The kind of night Darcy absolutely reveled in. The air was warm, tinged with only a hint of humidity, there was no need to cover up her bare shoulders. Only a slight breeze ruffled through her painstakingly curled hair.

She stood up on her tiptoes, leaning over the metal bar, just watching all the life happening below. The occasional sound of a car honking, a snippet of conversation from nearby open windows, the twinkling of brake lights, it was all still novel to her. A stark contrast to the sprawling, barren landscape of Puento Antiguo.

Barely noticeable, the sudden disappearance of wind and sound for only a moment alerted Darcy to the fact that something was off. She straightened up and checked over her shoulder. A tall, lean man stood a few feet behind her, staring through the glass door into the living room where Tony's Valentine's Day party was being held. It was Pepper's idea but Tony had taken to it quickly, inviting anyone and everyone even remotely associated with the Avengers.

With his back to her, she didn't think he knew he had company on the balcony. Not wanting to be rude, she turned around to face him and cleared her throat lightly to alert the stranger to her presence. She saw his neck twitch as he registered the noise, his shoulders tensed and his posture shifted into something a little more regal as he turned around and regarded her with curious eyes.

Darcy could tell the man had put more thought into his clothing tonight than she had. He wore a nicely tailored three piece suit in all black, save for the charcoal shirt. His face was lean and angular with cheekbones she wanted to touch just to see if they were as sharp as they looked.

"I apologize. I was unaware I had company."

His voice was smooth and accented, sounding British but with a hint of something else. It was in the pattern of his speech, the way he held himself. Like he was larger than the space he occupied. He reminded her of Thor, in a way.

Oh.

Her eyebrows went up as everything clicked into place. He didn't look like she remembered, though. There was something different—

"You got a haircut."

He looked at her quizzically.

"I, um, recognized you. From your pictures. Thor talks about you a lot, you know. But everything I've seen… you had got some pretty crazy hair. It just weirded me out for a second, there. Good weird, I mean. It looks nice." Darcy was half tempted to slap her hand over her mouth to get herself to stop talking. Loki just looked amused. His shoulders had relaxed a faction, at least.

"Thor? How do you know my br—how do you know him?"

She shrugged and leaned back against the railing, "I assume you know Jane?" He nodded once. "I work with her. Well, for her. I'm Darcy Lewis."

A flicker of recognition lit up his eyes. "You are the one that assaulted him when he first landed on Earth?"

She tried to fight the smirk that always appeared when she talked about that particular incident, but it was a feeble attempt. "That would be me."

She saw his lips twitch in response. He paused and considered her for a moment before walking over to the railing a few feet away, and looked out into the city. Darcy didn't know what to do. She was half tempted to just leave him be and go back to the party but he was the one who had interrupted her. That wouldn't be fair. In the end she decided to go back to what she was doing and turned back around to join him in watching other people live their lives.

There were a few minutes of companionable silence before the curiosity got the better of her.

"So, what exactly are you doing here?" She asked, not bothering to look at him.

He remained still and for a moment Darcy thought he wasn't going to answer. "I was invited." He said.

She highly doubted Tony was aware of the fact, no doubt that was Thor's doing, but she nodded anyway. "Alright, so if you were invited, why are you out here being all emo and brooding instead of inside enjoying the party?"

He looked at her from the corner of his eye, "I could ask the same of you, Miss Lewis."

She laughed, "Call me Darcy. And I'm out here because this, my friend, is a Valentine's Day party and I came stag. The music started, people paired off to dance and I felt the need to make myself scarce."

He hummed in response and continued to look out at the skyline before speaking up again, "I find it difficult to believe that you would have trouble finding a companion."

Darcy felt her face heat up at the indirect compliment—coming from a _god_ no less—before shrugging. "I've had a run of bad luck lately. When you tell a guy that you're friends with the Avengers and actually live with them they're either scared off or they get a little bit too excited."

"Surely you could have found someone just for the night?"

"Oh, sure. But inviting someone new to a party here is pretty much the ultimate trial by fire. I wouldn't put anyone through that." She looked over her shoulder to see how her friends were doing. Thor and Jane were laughing at something Natasha had said, Steve and the agent he had brought were doing a slow, clumsy dance in the middle of the room, while Tony and Pepper were pressed together tightly, barely swaying to the music, just enjoying each others presence. She smiled warmly to herself before turning to back. "You know, you should go in. Thor would be thrilled to see you."

Loki shifted slightly, looking up at the stars. "I know."

"But you're not going to."

He smiled a sad little smile. "No, not tonight."

"Why?"

He sighed. "It is… hard. Things between Thor and I. We both have things to atone for. Myself more than him. Words and actions that are not easily swept aside."

Darcy was surprised he had admitted as much to her, a complete stranger. She knew better than to keep pushing the topic. "But you're here. You're trying. Even if you don't go in, that still has got to count for something, right?"

He shrugged and she let the conversation drop. The strains of a new song beginning floated in the air around them. It was a song she recognized, slow and a little sad.

Loki cleared his throat and straightened up, taking a couple steps in Darcy's direction and held out his hand. "As long as I am here, would you care for a dance?"

She looked at him in disbelief and he gave her a small smile, "You _are_ beautiful, Darcy. It would be a shame for you to go the entire night without being called upon."

She swallowed and, not trusting herself to not sound like an idiot, remained silent and simply nodded and took his hand.


End file.
